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Almost every day I get calls from Moms interested in starting their own businesses. While there is no "one size fits all template to the challenge of creating a great home-based opportunity, here are three ways to begin the process of generating possibilities:

Attend Classes
A terrific resource for brainstorming home-based business ideas is your local adult education program catalogs. These days adult-ed is big business and there is a wide variety of subjects offered through community colleges and local town programs. A quick look at my local community college catalog for this semester yielded classes in "How to Become a Wedding Planner "Website Design Certificate, "Web Mastering Certificate, "Medical Billing and Reimbursement Specialist Certificate, "Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship Certificate, "Press Release Writing, and "Screenwriting (among others).

Going to adult-ed classes is a fun, low-risk, and inexpensive way to test out your interests without investing much time or money up-front. Certificate programs can be a great way to get the skills you need without having to invest in a full-blown degree program.

Get ideas from friends
Let's face it -sometimes it's hard to brainstorm on your own. After you've done a little digging around and you find yourself low on inspiration, try running your ideas by some of your friends. They may have some great suggestions on ways to tweak your business idea or they might be able to recommend some other options you haven't even thought about.

Look to the world around you for clues
The world around you is filled with clues on the best ways to match your unique package of skills and talents to a marketplace need.

· Find a Solution to Problems - Listen to the complaints of others. What services do they need? What opportunities do these needs create?

· Be Cognizant of Trends - The aging population, increase in crime, multiculturalism, proliferation of home businesses and the increase in two career couples are all examples of trends that create demand for new services.

· Identify the needs of niche populations - Working mothers, the elderly, immigrants, gifted children, - all of these populations have unique needs. Do you have a special service you could provide them?

· People like You - Through personal experience as a single mother, an avid traveler, or success with a personal weight loss plan you are a living testimonial to the virtues of your expertise and methods. Are there other people like you who might benefit from your hard-won knowledge?

· Needs created by current events - Did your school district recently vote to eliminate all day kindergarten? Have local events created a need for diversity training? Is there an influx of new businesses due to a major corporate relocation into the area? Here again, these events create a need for new services. Make it a point to stay abreast of local news.

This is excerpted from How to Craft a Winning Home Based Business by Nancy Collamer. The book may be downloaded in it's entirety from www.jobsandmoms.com

                Signs of Career Burnout
            OVERWORKED AND STRESSED OUT
         by Linda Matais

A misconception exists that careers in social service or postal work are the only fields that experience worker burnout and stress. This notion could not be further from the truth because the fact is every profession is susceptible to mental strain and exhaustion.

Learning to distinguish normal stress from the deeper issues that lead to career burnout is important in order to effectively deal with the problem. Also, recognizing that any job can have this issue can empower you to make positive changes in your own workplace.

RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF BURNOUT

The signs can vary from individual to individual, but the following are some universal indicators that one can use to determine if career burnout is occurring.

1. Depression

Feelings of despair and sadness that last for weeks or months usually signal that something in your life is not working like it should and is cause for an investigation into the cause - potentially your job.

2. Lack of energy

If you find yourself struggling to get out of bed in the morning to go to work or experiencing constant fatigue throughout the day, your career could be the culprit.

3. Lack of desire

You used to be motivated to work your hardest and achieve the goals you set for yourself. But lately, you find that you just don't care if you are successful or not - a telltale warning that you may have become burned out.

4. Decreased productivity

Your supervisor and coworkers used to praise you for the work results you produced; however, lately you have missed several important project deadlines and have become undependable because these things just didn't seem that important to you.

5. Increased absences and/or tardiness

There used to be a day when you would rather have cut off your left hand than be late or miss a day of work. Nowadays, you find yourself looking for every opportunity to skip out on work.

6. Abuse of alcohol/drugs

Requiring alcohol or drugs to get through a workday is a definite red flag that you are experiencing a tremendous amount of work-related stress.

7. Boredom

Occasional boredom in one's career is completely normal; however, pervasive feelings of weariness and dreariness are not and are an indicator of potential burnout.

8. Anger/resentment in workplace

Frequently lashing out at coworkers and/or supervisors is unacceptable under any circumstance. This behavior deserves immediate attention due to its potentially abusive nature.

9. Sleep problems

Insomnia or occasional fatigue can happen to anyone but are a cause for concern if they become constant and a part of your everyday life. Sleep disturbances are your body's way of saying it is overworked.

10. Inability to relax

If you find that you no longer enjoy your favorite non-work activities or that you are constantly tense with headaches, your career could be harming your health and happiness.

I THINK I'M BURNED OUT - NOW WHAT?

The first step to getting help is acknowledging that you need assistance. The second step is to seek out professional help and guidance through a partner, trusted friend, therapist, or workplace employee assistance program. The road to finding your perfect work can be challenging, but it is also empowering and life changing.

About the Author
Career Coach Inc. is run by Linda Matias and Bryan Cadicamo where their objective is twofold: to coach professionals through the interview process and those who are in a career transition and are looking to reawaken or discover their life's passion. To learn more visit www.careercoachinc.com coach@careercoachinc.com